blastermasterfandomcom-20200214-history
Blaster Master: Overdrive
Blaster Master Overdrive is a WiiWare game, released in February of 2010. It's a re-imagining of the first Blaster Master, starring Alex who pilots S.O.P.H.I.A.. Storyline A mysterious virus spreads throughout the Earth. Animals exposed to it are transformed into hostile, grotesque mutants and humans attacked by them fall into comas. Alex, the protagonist, is a biologist whose family has been infected. Suiting up and jumping into S.O.P.H.I.A., Alex seeks out to destroy the source of the virus beneath the planet's surface. After the viral menace is destroyed, the Earth recovers and Alex's family revives. The game ends with a sequel hook, with a scene of a purple meteor heading towards the Earth, followed by the declaration that, "the battle has just begun." Speculation Despite Overdrive being billed as a "re-imagining," speculation can be made about the plot, especially in its relation to the rest of the series. Overdrive’s Alex doesn't seem to be the same Alex Bufoni from Worlds of Power: Blaster Master, but there's no official word. If so, then it explains why he had the Sophia ready to go so soon, having perhaps borrowed it from Jason or Roddy. It is likely that Overdrive’s Alex is simply a homage in name to the Worlds of Power book, much like how Eve was adopted into canon with Blaster Master: Blasting Again. Alex may be the father of Jason and the grandfather of Roddy and Elfie. His young, unnamed son resembles Jason, and the fact that he possesses Sophia would explain why Jason eventually found the tank hidden near his home several years later. S.O.P.H.I.A. also appears to be the most primitive version of Sophia in the series, with no allusion to the version of the vehicle in its name, unlike Sophia 3rd and Sophia 4th. This could signify that S.O.P.H.I.A. is the earliest and original incarnation of the tank, and gives time for Alex to upgrade it to Sophia 3rd over the years before Jason finds it. If this is true, this would conflict with the previous continuity established when ''Blaster Master: Blasting Again'' adopted the Worlds of Power novel as canon. Sophia 3rd was a creation of Eve's home planet and belonged to her, and arrived on Earth when she did, not too long before Jason discovers it. Overdrive makes no attempt to explain where S.O.P.H.I.A. came from, though the virtual manual claims that Alex built it. The identity of the purple meteor is impossible to discern from the game; it may be the arrival of a new antagonist, or it could be the Plutonium Boss on his way to burrow into the Earth, setting up the original Blaster Master and giving credence to the theory of Overdrive as a prequel and Alex being Jason's father. Gameplay S.O.P.H.I.A. and Alex initially have substantially less Life than in previous installments, but have the potential to have much more. Modes Vehicle Mode Here, Alex pilots S.O.PH.I.A. through the various areas. If Alex steps outside of his tank, he'll take constant, minor damage until he enters Chambers or hops back inside the vehicle, which instantly restores his HP. Alex Mode Alex can move and shoot in eight directions and is capable of strafing. Alex has four different weapons to choose from, each with their own power levels. * Gun * Grenade * Homing Missile * Blast Bomb Powerups * Repair Kit * Reinforced Armor Kit * Energy Generator Areas * Ruins * Caverns * Subterranean Lake * Sky Tower * Lava Flow * Ice Caves * Badlands * Ruinous Depths Homages Overdrive contains many homages and subtle references to every previous game in the series. Among them are: *Music and level themes from Blaster Master and Blaster Master: Enemy Below *The Drill Kit, a Sophia module last seen in Blaster Master 2 *A doppelgänger boss from Blaster Master Boy *A mutant bat boss from Blaster Master: Blasting Again Gallery 0_Splash_a.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive 0_Splash_b.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, splash image without Alexander 1_Intro_a.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 01 1_Intro_b.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 02 1_Intro_c.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 03 1_Intro_d.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 04 1_Intro_e.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 06 1_Intro_f.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 06 1_Intro_g.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 07 1_Intro_h.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 08 1_Intro_i.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 09 1_Intro_j.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 10 1_Intro_k.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 11 1_Intro_l.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 12 1_Intro_m.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Intro image 13 2_Ending_a.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 01 2_Ending_b.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 02 2_Ending_c.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 03 2_Ending_d.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 04 2_Ending_e.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 05 2_Ending_f.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 06 2_Ending_g.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 07 2_Ending_h.jpg|Blaster Master: Overdrive, Ending image 08 Category:Game Series Category:Blaster Master: Overdrive